Albert Park: TeamVodafone race one report

Lowndes takes the perfect score from opening Australian Grand Prix
raceFor Immediate Release: 27 March 2009TeamVodafone's Craig Lowndes
has enjoyed a perfect start to his Australian Grand Prix campaign
claiming pole position and winning the...

Lowndes takes the perfect score from opening Australian Grand Prix
raceFor Immediate Release: 27 March 2009TeamVodafone's Craig Lowndes
has enjoyed a perfect start to his Australian Grand Prix campaign
claiming pole position and winning the opening 15-lap race of the Sprint
Gas Manufacturers Challenge at Melbourne's Albert Park today, while
teammate Jamie Whincup tore through the field on his way to finishing
seventh.

After setting the quickest time in qualifying yesterday Lowndes was once
again the fastest man on track, winning the top ten shootout to take pole
position and hand his fellow Ford drivers a start from the right hand
side of the grid.

Despite experiencing a mediocre start, Lowndes maintained position for
the entire duration of the race and set another lap record on his way to
victory in Race 1.

"I actually got a pretty average start but I had enough to cover for
second spot and then passed Frosty when he ran wide a few turns
later," Lowndes explained.

"We have really good cold tyre speed and that allowed some great
drive but I was conscious of looking after the tyres, given that we will
have to use them again sometime this weekend.

"I still believe we can find some more improvements in the car that
will suit this track," Lowndes added.

Teammate Jamie Whincup took it easy off the start and dropped back to
17th before passing 10 cars on his way to finishing seventh. "We
achieved our main goal of keeping the car straight," Whincup said.

"I could have been more aggressive at the start but I wanted to make
sure we looked after the car and avoided trouble.

"Clearly we have the pace. I am really looking forward to the next
two races," he added.

The second of three 15-lap races that make up the Sprint Gas
Manufacturers Challenge will be contested at 6.15pm (AEDST) tomorrow.